Thursday, October 4, 2007

Braided Hair and More!!

So yes I got my hair braided!! Woopdie doooo!!! lol..

well I wanted to do it since the beginning of the year, but I would ask these girls, and they said oooh i cant braid your hair.. its too soft... however.. no excuse.. i didn't try hard enough...

Now.. tis BRAIDED!!!!!!! AND YES I LOOK GOOD (ok im jus being honest).. hehe

I am sooo glad it looks good... whew!!! I was afraid that I would look out of place.. like a wannabe or something but by God's grace, I have this look that transcends borders.. (people can never guess what ethnicity I am, and this braiding is making it even worse.. aaah I love it!!) .. I just wanted these braids cuz it looks SOOO COOL.... im not tryin to rebellious or "AFRICAN" or black or hippie like.. or whateva .. IT LOOKS COOL.. YOU SHOULD ALL TRY IT..

ANYWAYS...When I was getting my hair braided, I kept looking in the mirror, and was doubtful, especially of the brownish blond braid pack I had chosen.. I did not want to look like someone who is trying sooo hard to be "AFRICAN" and that too with blond braids!!!!!!

Even when she was done, I was like ummmmmm.. and finally I made her plat some of my braids in the back.. which I thought would look better and after that I was like wow this looks good..
Then I said to myself... "I look Egyptian"

and then when I walked out of her room... I wasn't ready for the shower of compliments I was going to receive from everyone... People are saying its looks good, its nice, i love ur hair, "Muhle" beautiful in Zulu (haha these zulu people assume I donno zulu but ha lil do they know .. tht I do .. im takin an ZULU CLASS (u knew that rite.. since last sem) k back to list), it suits me.., I look like Cleopatra, I have an Alicia Keys look going on..., now i don't look like i'm Indian anymore... , i could fit into south america.. LATINA...Colored.......,hot, exotic, beautiful..." and a whole array of things... the list is not over.... remember this is still the first week.... people are still getting shocked and surprised..

now girls and guys gimme these looks (black and indian)... like when im walkin.. they look like good looks... n i know they r lookin at my hair....

hehehe

well. i dont mind the POSITIVE attention!!!!!!!

and yes i like this... SOO MUCH BETTER THAN NATURAL HAIR....
no shampooing no conditioning no blow drying no straightening no brushing no combing no oiling no post care no precare ..... saves SOOOO MUCH TIME.. omg.. u have no idea.. It looks good anytime of the day.. anytime of the night.. I LOVE IT... WISH I CLD KEEP IT LIKE THIS FOREVER... anyways it is a dead biproduct of the body... like nails.. ( no i wont keep it foreva. im not crazy.. . ill take it off... clean my hair...and then REDO IT!!)........ haha

OH YES!! IM ALSO FAMOUS!!! AND GETTING MORE FAMOUS!!!!

I WAS ON INTERNATIONAL T.V. FOR THE INDIA VS. AUSTRALIA MATCH.. I DONNO if I mentioned this in my previous blogs... and so many people on campus and in my classes are like
I SAW YOU ON T.V. HEHEHE!! FAMOUS... and people also saw me SCREAMING MY HEART OUT.. n some of em even told me.. n i know these other ppl from my class who were at the match SAW ME YELLIN MY GUTS OUT..LOL..

anyways...Jaya Aunty (Dr. Rana's wife) is in Scotland and she saw me from there .. YAYA!!! HEHE me famous.. SOOO...

YES INDIA WON AGAINST AUSTRALIA AND WON THE 20/20 CRICKET WORLD CUP!!!!!

I was going KRAZY and people in India are acting crazier... hehee.. it was awesome...

OH yes.. I went to POETRY AFRIKA... and my friend ALVINA AND I WERE INTERVIEWED!! HAHA.. by this new T.V. CHANNEL called ONE T.V... LOL...
and we had to say one of those things in the end.. "Hi this is Reshma from U.S.A and you are watching ONE T.V." OMG I felt like such A STAR!!! HAHA... LOL I ALWAYS SAID I WOULD BE FAMOUS.. but i didnt know it would be like this... HAHA!!

and then this guy from a popular website which covers all major events took like 10 BILLION pics of my friend and I.. (LIKE6-7).. LOL.. OMG.. FAMOUS!!
FAME IS FOLLOWING ME..!! I WOULD LOVE TO BE FAMOUS!!!!!!! (like some white guy came to the food stall at Yasmin's and said I look a lot like Bipasha Basu (this famous Indian actress and model).. n it seems he danced with her in an upcoming movie called RACE... and hes like u really look a lot like her....OMG.. lol...

HAHAHA!!!!!!!

WELL...lets see.....

neways.. i donno if ill be writing anymore blogs.. got tons of work this month.. cuz finals r next month..... lotsa pprs... AAAH.. well.. ill tryta keep u updated... but .. hope all is well.. plz email me .. and leme know whats up.. ok ..
alrite then ....
LOVE
RESHAM
PS: ALWAYS FOLLOW YOUR HEART, THE DIVINE VOICE WITHIN YOU LIVES THERE!!

Friday, September 21, 2007

MORE INSIGHT-POST CRICKET AND MORE

OH YES... IM GOING TO SEE INDIA VS AUSTRALIA MATCH TOMORROW.. ITS A SEMI FINAL OF T-20 CRICKET... AND ITS AWESOME...JUS GOT FREE TICKETS ... YAY!! AND I THINK THEY ARE GOING TO WIN...

N YES.. WHA I FORGOT TO MENTION IN MY LAST BLOG IS THAT MY FRIEND AKI WAS LIKE WOW.. THE INDIAN TEAM PLAYERS ARE TALKING TO U LIKE UR THEIR FRIEND OR SOMETHING.. LOL.. DEFINITELY ROBIN N STUFF..

N YES DID I TELL U THT I WAS LIKE ONE OF THE ONLY GURLS SCREAMIN MY HEART OUT.. YAYAYA!!!! MAN I AM HYPER.. N SOUTH AFRICAN GURLS ARE PASSIVE AND BORING.. OMG.. THEY ARE...

I THINK WOMEN NEEDTA START GETTIN OUT OF THEIR DAMN SHELL N BE REAL WOMEN.. LIKE WOMEN.. U KNOW NOT SIT N WATCH THE GAME LIKE THEY DONT EXIST... WHTEVA..

WHY CANT GURLS BE HYPER LIKE GUYS.. HMM????

U KNOW INDIAN GURLS FROM INDIA ARE LIKE THIS.. NOT ALL OF OFCOURSE.. BUT THERE ARE SUCH GURLS... BUT MAN SOUTH AFRICAN INDIAN GURLS ARE BORING ..

ACTUALLY ALL THE GURLS THERE WHITE INDIAN OR COLORED.. WERE JUS MORE QUIET THAN ME.. WHOA I WAS YELLIN.. EHHE MY MOM WLDVE SAID "SHOOO" BUT I WOULD NOT HAVE LISTENED OF COURSE.. HEHEE... CUZ I KNOW SHE WLDVE SAID IT JOKINGLY...HEHE... YAYAA...

YES WOMEN BE EMPOWERED..

U KNOW WHA SOME CRICKET PLAYERS ASKED ME TO HANG OUT WITH THEM.. (INDIAN N SOUTH AFRICAN TEAM) AND I SAID NO.... NO SORRY.. N SOME OTHER GUY FRIENDS OF MINE WERE LIKE "UR MOM WOULD BE SOOO PROUD OF YOU".. N I WAS SOO HAPPY WHEN HE SAID THT.. EHEHE... YAAAAAAY!!!!

YES WOMEN BE EMPOWERED... DONT BE STUPID .. BE SMART AND BE WISE..

BUT BE WOMEN...
DNT HAVETA BE ALL BOTTLED UP AND SHY.. OPEN UP AND EXPRESS UR FEELINGS... YAYA!!!!

YES...

HEHEHE.. OK THTS MY LIL TAKE ON WOMEN.. HEHE


OH YES.S.. I FIGURED SOUTH AFRICAN INDIANS ONLY LOOK INDIAN ON THE OUTSIDE, FOLLOW SOME CUSTOMS, WATCH FEW INDIAN MOVIES HERE AND THERE, AND MAYBE GO TO A TEMPLE, OR MOSQUE OR CHURCH.. (like who eats NAAN n ROTI with a FORK N KNIFE) BUT THEY ARE NOT "INDIAN" .. in the sense of being "INDIAN" from INDIA.. the essence of it is not the same.. YAY!!!
i would call them SOUTH AFRICANS..

oh yes it was weird to see SOUTH AFRICAN INDIANS supporting.. SOUTH AFRICA n not INDIA.. IT WAS KINDA WEIRD N I WAS LIKE OK THT DOESNT GO TOGETHER.. HEHE.. I HAVE ALWAYS SEEN N HEARD INDIANS SUPPORTING INDIA.. LOL.. HEHE SOO IT WAS AN INTERESTING EXPERIENCE..

THE FIRST LIVE CRICKET MATCH!!!!!!!!!!!! INDIA IS THE BEST!!

OK HAVENT POSTED IN A LONG TIME.. LOTSA EXCITING THINGS HAVE HAPPENED.. CANT WRITE ALL OF EM BUT.....

I SAW MY FIRST LIVE CRICKET MATCH WHICH HAPPENED TO BE INDIA VS PAKISTAN AT KINGSMEAN SAHARA STADIUM IN DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA

hmm.. WELL INDIA WON AGAINST SOUTH AFRICA ON 20TH SEPTEMBER, 2007.. AT KINGSMEAD SAHARA STADIUM IN DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA

-Robin Uthappa is THE SWEETEST GUY in the Indian Team..the NICEST, the MOST CARING,the MOST RESPONSIVE, and OMG THE BEST!!!
and WHY??? He's from KARNATAKA...
He actually spoke to ME.. (im not exaggerating or braggin) ROBIN was up in the dressing room.. and he was TALKING TO ME.. of all the people.. HE WAS RESPONDING TO ME.... OMG...
he said dyaa want me to come down.. i said YES.. n he CAME!!! OMG WHA A SWEETHEART!!!

n then he signed like 2 AUTOGRAPHS FOR ME... ( Now IRFAN PATHAN KHAN did this also, he actually responded to me... OMG .. share it soon)

n my friend's aki autograph ppr (her ticket) fell somewhere.. n there were soooo many ppl i cldnt get to it.. n aki hadta struggle to get it.... n OMG... HE GOT IT FOR US.. OMG.. HE IS SOOO NICE...

Later we went to Holiday Inn (Souther Sun Elangeni, where we had MY 22ND BIRTHDAY) n they were there .. OMG...

U know Robin actually spoke to me.. NOT LIKE AN IDIOT OR LOSER.. like other guys.. but like sensibly.. n i asked him how he got into cricket, where hes from.. My other friend.. he is like askin robin wha r u doin on sunday nite.. lol wanna go to LUGS.. hehe BLUE LAGOON (now i didnt know that.. n robin n i both were like whats lugs) and he was gonna give this other friend (this guy) his number...but these stupid guys came n disturbed us... n AAAAAAH..

we were sorta low on cash.. so he even said how r u guys gettin home.. n we said oh we r low on cash for taxi.. but we will manage... n he said ...OH i can give u some money?? n the other guy wanted to take it BUT I SAID NO!!..
n robin was like oh no i understand how it is sometimes u dont have money... n i said no its ok dont worry ( and WHOEVA SAID GURLS RUN AFTER MONEY.. WHATEVA)

I think Robin and I could have been cool buddies... he seemed really tight... very well-mannered n NOT AT ALL SNOBBISH.. u know hes actually younger than me by 6 mos.. but OMG looked older.. even acted mature.. maybe cuz he was in tht sportsman character.. neways...

DHONI IS THE WORST OF ALL VERY SNOBBISH.. FULL OF ATTITUDE.. N SUPER UGLY IN PERSON... I THINK THE CAMERA MAKES HIM LOOK WAY BETTA THAN HE IS .. i dont like him any more.. LOSER..
BTW Yousuf Pathan IS also A LOSER.. TOTALLY... DONT LIKE HIM... HE DOES NOT RESPECT WOMEN.. JUS A PLAYA... hmmmm...

OH YES IRFAN PATHAN KHAN IS ACTUALLY HOTTER AND MUCH BETTER LOOKIN PERSON THAT ON T.V. AND I TOLD HIM THAT... HEHE.. HE SMILED.. N HE ALSO ACKNOWLEDGED ME.. U KNOW HE SIGNED 3 AUTOGRAPHS FOR ME...HEHE AND THERE WERE SOOO MANY PPL THERE WAITING.. YAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~~~
BTW I said can i have ur numba (JOKINGLY) hes like I HAVE A GF... lol.. (as if i want to be his GF) .. ppl dont understand tht jus cuz u like these famous ppl doesnt mean u wanna date them or go out with them.. even when u say things like i love u.. ill marry u .. its JUST A JOKE.. OMG AS IF I M GONNA JUS BE LIKE OK... I LL BE UR GF..(PAAGAL samjha he kya.. (does he think im crazy)).. WHATEVA!!!!!!!!! .. i told him i dont wnna be ur gf.. i jus wanna be ur frnd.. LOL.. but he was definitely nice to me.. ehhe n yes he LOOKS REALLY GOOD IN PERSON.. Muscular n Lean n His Face is GORGEOUS.. n his SKIN color is this BEAUTIFUL TAN.. WOW... hehe.. (n looks DO NOT constitute by any means the reasons due to which a gurl (or atleast me) will eva pick anyone for a bf or for a friend... gurl or guy.. get tht straight).. hehe

ALSO...
I MET VENKATESH PRASAD!! WHOA HES HONESTLY THE FIRST CRICKETER I LIKED.. OMG... I ALWAYS DID.. I THOUGHT HE WAS SOO GOOD AT BOWLING N SOO QUIET.. N SOO CUTE.. OMG.. MEETING HIM WAS A NEVER IMAGINED DREAM COME TRUE... WHOAAAAAAAAA... HE IS ALSO NICE..
ITOLD HIM I WATCHED U WHEN I WAS 9 YRS OLD.. HE WA SLIKE WHOAAA...

EVEN JONTY RHODES.. AAAH.. N MKHAYA NTINI... YAYAYAYA. SAW SEAN POLLOCK..
IBASICALLY GOT AUTOGRAPHS N PICS N SPOKE TO ALL OF THE INDIAN CRICKETERS.. N SOME COOL SOUTH AFRICAN ONES TOO....

ALL MY CHILDHOOD DREAMS.. WHICH I NEVA THOUGHT WILL EVA HAPPEN CAME TRUE.. AND EVEN MY RECENT DREAMS.. OMG...

NEVER IN MY WILDEST IMAGINATIONS DID I THINK I WOULD MEET THE INDIAN CRICKET TEAM AND GET PICS WITH THEM?? THEY R AWESOME...

WOW.. SO WHO IS JEALOUS NOW??? HEHEHEHEHE YAYA.....

N WHO EVA TOLD ME NOT TO COME TO SOUTH AFRICA CUZ ITS CRIME RIDDEN.. LOL..WHATEVA.. HEHE... OK.. IM HAVING LOTSA FUN... MY LATENT LOVE FOR CRICKET HAS BEEN REVIVED... WOW.. LOVE IT.

I LOVE SOUTH AFRICA..
IHAVE TOLD GOD I WANNA STAY HERE LONGER IT IS UPTO GOD TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.. N I CAN ACTUALLY SEE IT HAPPENING.. YAYA!!!!!
DID I TELL YOU I LOVE SOUTH AFRICA!!!

THE FIRST LIVE CRICKET MATCH!!!!!!!!!!!! INDIA IS THE BEST!!

OK HAVENT POSTED IN A LONG TIME.. LOTSA EXCITING THINGS HAVE HAPPENED.. CANT WRITE ALL OF EM BUT.....

I SAW MY FIRST LIVE CRICKET MATCH WHICH HAPPENED TO BE INDIA VS PAKISTAN AT KINGSMEAN SAHARA STADIUM IN DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA

hmm.. WELL INDIA WON AGAINST SOUTH AFRICA ON 20TH SEPTEMBER, 2007.. AT KINGSMEAD SAHARA STADIUM IN DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA

-Robin Uthappa is THE SWEETEST GUY in the Indian Team..the NICEST, the MOST CARING,the MOST RESPONSIVE, and OMG THE BEST!!!
and WHY??? He's from KARNATAKA...
He actually spoke to ME.. (im not exaggerating or braggin) ROBIN was up in the dressing room.. and he was TALKING TO ME.. of all the people.. HE WAS RESPONDING TO ME.... OMG...
he said dyaa want me to come down.. i said YES.. n he CAME!!! OMG WHA A SWEETHEART!!!

n then he signed like 2 AUTOGRAPHS FOR ME... ( Now IRFAN PATHAN KHAN did this also, he actually responded to me... OMG .. share it soon)

n my friend's aki autograph ppr (her ticket) fell somewhere.. n there were soooo many ppl i cldnt get to it.. n aki hadta struggle to get it.... n OMG... HE GOT IT FOR US.. OMG.. HE IS SOOO NICE...

Later we went to Holiday Inn (Souther Sun Elangeni, where we had MY 22ND BIRTHDAY) n they were there .. OMG...

U know Robin actually spoke to me.. NOT LIKE AN IDIOT OR LOSER.. like other guys.. but like sensibly.. n i asked him how he got into cricket, where hes from.. My other friend.. he is like askin robin wha r u doin on sunday nite.. lol wanna go to LUGS.. hehe BLUE LAGOON (now i didnt know that.. n robin n i both were like whats lugs) and he was gonna give this other friend (this guy) his number...but these stupid guys came n disturbed us... n AAAAAAH..

we were sorta low on cash.. so he even said how r u guys gettin home.. n we said oh we r low on cash for taxi.. but we will manage... n he said ...OH i can give u some money?? n the other guy wanted to take it BUT I SAID NO!!..
n robin was like oh no i understand how it is sometimes u dont have money... n i said no its ok dont worry ( and WHOEVA SAID GURLS RUN AFTER MONEY.. WHATEVA)

I think Robin and I could have been cool buddies... he seemed really tight... very well-mannered n NOT AT ALL SNOBBISH.. u know hes actually younger than me by 6 mos.. but OMG looked older.. even acted mature.. maybe cuz he was in tht sportsman character.. neways...

DHONI IS THE WORST OF ALL VERY SNOBBISH.. FULL OF ATTITUDE.. N SUPER UGLY IN PERSON... I THINK THE CAMERA MAKES HIM LOOK WAY BETTA THAN HE IS .. i dont like him any more.. LOSER..
BTW Yousuf Pathan IS also A LOSER.. TOTALLY... DONT LIKE HIM... HE DOES NOT RESPECT WOMEN.. JUS A PLAYA... hmmmm...

OH YES IRFAN PATHAN KHAN IS ACTUALLY HOTTER AND MUCH BETTER LOOKIN PERSON THAT ON T.V. AND I TOLD HIM THAT... HEHE.. HE SMILED.. N HE ALSO ACKNOWLEDGED ME.. U KNOW HE SIGNED 3 AUTOGRAPHS FOR ME...HEHE AND THERE WERE SOOO MANY PPL THERE WAITING.. YAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~~~
BTW I said can i have ur numba (JOKINGLY) hes like I HAVE A GF... lol.. (as if i want to be his GF) .. ppl dont understand tht jus cuz u like these famous ppl doesnt mean u wanna date them or go out with them.. even when u say things like i love u.. ill marry u .. its JUST A JOKE.. OMG AS IF I M GONNA JUS BE LIKE OK... I LL BE UR GF..(PAAGAL samjha he kya.. (does he think im crazy)).. WHATEVA!!!!!!!!! .. i told him i dont wnna be ur gf.. i jus wanna be ur frnd.. LOL.. but he was definitely nice to me.. ehhe n yes he LOOKS REALLY GOOD IN PERSON.. Muscular n Lean n His Face is GORGEOUS.. n his SKIN color is this BEAUTIFUL TAN.. WOW... hehe.. (n looks DO NOT constitute by any means the reasons due to which a gurl (or atleast me) will eva pick anyone for a bf or for a friend... gurl or guy.. get tht straight).. hehe

ALSO...
I MET VENKATESH PRASAD!! WHOA HES HONESTLY THE FIRST CRICKETER I LIKED.. OMG... I ALWAYS DID.. I THOUGHT HE WAS SOO GOOD AT BOWLING N SOO QUIET.. N SOO CUTE.. OMG.. MEETING HIM WAS A NEVER IMAGINED DREAM COME TRUE... WHOAAAAAAAAA... HE IS ALSO NICE..
ITOLD HIM I WATCHED U WHEN I WAS 9 YRS OLD.. HE WA SLIKE WHOAAA...

EVEN JONTY RHODES.. AAAH.. N MKHAYA NTINI... YAYAYAYA. SAW SEAN POLLOCK..
IBASICALLY GOT AUTOGRAPHS N PICS N SPOKE TO ALL OF THE INDIAN CRICKETERS.. N SOME COOL SOUTH AFRICAN ONES TOO....

ALL MY CHILDHOOD DREAMS.. WHICH I NEVA THOUGHT WILL EVA HAPPEN CAME TRUE.. AND EVEN MY RECENT DREAMS.. OMG...

NEVER IN MY WILDEST IMAGINATIONS DID I THINK I WOULD MEET THE INDIAN CRICKET TEAM AND GET PICS WITH THEM?? THEY R AWESOME...

WOW.. SO WHO IS JEALOUS NOW??? HEHEHEHEHE YAYA.....

N WHO EVA TOLD ME NOT TO COME TO SOUTH AFRICA CUZ ITS CRIME RIDDEN.. LOL..WHATEVA.. HEHE... OK.. IM HAVING LOTSA FUN... MY LATENT LOVE FOR CRICKET HAS BEEN REVIVED... WOW.. LOVE IT.

I LOVE SOUTH AFRICA..
IHAVE TOLD GOD I WANNA STAY HERE LONGER IT IS UPTO GOD TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.. N I CAN ACTUALLY SEE IT HAPPENING.. YAYA!!!!!
DID I TELL YOU I LOVE SOUTH AFRICA!!!

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Coincidences?? Do they exist??

This is an email my Gautam (Google) Anna (older brother) sent me. It has similar views to Deepak Chopra's book "SynchroDestiny" that I always recommend... PLease read n enjoy..

ALSO does any one have any INFO on Peace Corps??? lEMME KNOW.. Buh bye

Dream Manifesto

Call it Luck - Coincidences Are Fulfilling Your Intentions
Posted: 27 May 2007 10:13 AM CDT
A coincidence is an incident that happens with another incident. It can happen at the same time at the same place, same time but different place or same place but different time. It can even happen at a different time and different place but is related to the first event in some special way. Coincidences are incidents that correlate with each other across time and space. They are events in synchronization with a higher cause. That is why coincidences are synchronicities.
Everything that happens in the universe starts with intention. Events that happen separately and which do not directly cause each other are acausal events. But acausal events have a common cause which is intent. Intent is what creates and synchronizes those separate events to fulfill a common purpose that they are a part of. When you make a choice through intention, the universe takes care of the details necessary to fulfill the intention through synchronicities.
The Whole Universe Functions By SynchronicityEvery moment of our life operates in synchronicity. The only reason we do not experience synchronicity is that we are not in the state of awareness to notice it happening. Everything that is happening in every moment is happening together with everything else that is a part of fulfilling the intentions by which they were created from.
Everything in the universe exists as undefined energy until an observer focuses on it. It is consciousness alone that collapses the wave-particle. Without consciousness, everything would exist only as pure potential. There are infinite possibilities that need only intent to make real. In order to notice anything, you have to ignore everything else around it. It is observation that turns possibility into reality. We can truly create the magical life with consciousness alone.
Synchronicity is how God arranges situations for your desires to manifest. When you focus on your intent, the universe starts arranging the timeline of events to make it happen. Luck is simply the creation of coincidence for the fulfillment of your intentions. It is your intention that creates opportunities for you to fulfill it. When you realize that coincidences are opportunities created by intent, every coincidence becomes an opportunity for you to fulfill your very desires.
You have to be on the lookout for opportunities that will open up to grant your desire. Those opportunities do not happen by chance but they happen because they were created by your intent. Have you ever had a longing or intent to meet someone or do something, and the next moment a situation comes along for you to do so? An opportunity may present itself, but limiting thoughts that arise in the moment may stop you from taking it. You have to be aware of and resolve your limiting thoughts. When the opportunity shows up, do not hesitate, doubt or fear. Act on it.
Coincidences Call Our Attention to Important Things in our LivesWe can choose to ignore them and hurry on, or we can pay attention to them and live out the miracle that is waiting for us. When we miss the first message, the universe communicates it repeatedly through reoccurring events. We keep seeing, hearing or feeling the same thing over again until we get it. It might seem that the things you had been doing before you finally made the switch to do the right thing, may have been mistakes. But they are not really mistakes when you see it from the awareness that all those things had to happen in order for you to be brought to where you are. They were simply preparation for the change you were supposed to make.
The more you focus on coincidences, the more you attract coincidences into your life. Sometimes a coincidence may not give you the full meaning it signifies. But the more you focus on your intent to find out the meaning, the more such coincidences will occur and the more clearly their meaning comes into view. When that happens, your path to fulfillment emerges. The answer may also come as a sudden insight or a spontaneous revelatory experience. The key is to keep paying attention to your coincidences and inquire.
Coincidences Are Also Clues to the Will of the Universe The more unlikely a coincidence is to happen, the more potent the clue and the more powerful a message it is about the path the universe has planned for you. Synchronicities are signs from heaven. The very fact that it is a coincidence means it is a message from God, and we must take heed, and then take action. Coincidences let you know which of your intentions are likely to be fulfilled. It is important never to ignore a coincidence because it is a chance to see what the universe has planned for you. When you pay attention to coincidences, they'll accelerate, creating even more opportunities for you to become the person the universe intended you to be.
You intention is more powerful and effective when it serves a larger purpose. Intention works better when it takes into account the relationships that surround it. Your intention is more likely to manifest when it harmonizes with the collective intent of the people around you. You should have an intent that benefits at least one person other than yourself. When two shall agree, it shall be done according to the universe. When people are truly in tune with each other, they experience synchronicity in their relationship. They are connected spirit to spirit.
We are all Cocreators of Reality in the UniverseAn intention can be only fulfilled through synchronicity if it is aligned with the intention of the universal mind. The universal intention is always evolutionary and therefore moving in the direction of harmonious interactions that serve the larger good. Every intent affects the intents of all other beings in the universe. The universal mind coordinates and synchronizes all intents and the events for their fulfillment. Every being might think that it is its own intent which is synchronizing the whole universe, but its intent actually originates from the universal mind. All the intents and events co-arises and co-creates each other. We are all cocreators of reality in the universe.
When a person achieves a certain level of consciousness, whatever he or she intends begins to happen. There are people who are so connected to universal consciousness that their every intent manifests itself. The whole order of the universe orchestrates around it. Of course, it is not necessary true that their every personal intention is being met. People who are connected with universal consciousness adopt the intentions of the universe. Their intentions are being met because the universal mind is using their intentions to fulfill its own desires. When you live from the level of universal consciousness, all your desires will come true because they are not just your personal desires, but they are aligned with the desires of all that exist. That is why it is important to choose intentions that are aligned with the greatest good of all.
About the author:Enoch Tan aims to help people achieve greater awareness in living and experiencing life. To evolve human consciousness to higher levels. To change lives and to create possibility. To revolutionize the way we understand the mind and reality. Because that is what governs every area of life and destiny.
Get Free Ebooks that contain the Most Powerful Knowledge and Learn Mind Blowing Secrets That will Rock Your World Now at: Secrets of Mind and Reality
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Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Random May Blog

wOW TODAY mAY 17TH i THINK..not sure..

I met a Mexican woman... YAYA... i was sooo excited cuz there are hardly any Latinos here.. shes from mexico city and came for the Indaba (a intnl convention for trade, etc.) there was also a polish guy...
Oh yes speaking of Latinos!! Like always.. hehe... I am mistaken for lotsa things... wherever I go people think I belong to that ethnicity or race...
like one guy calls me Miss. Brazilian!! (lol) Ya I ve gotten like Portugese buncha times.. Italian also.. and yes WHITE!!!! (can u believe it???) lol.. The first time I was shocked outta my mind.. This one old guy at a restaurant started speaking to me in Italian n i wa s like HUh.. He said arent u Italian?? I was like NO Indian... he was shocked so was his wife... then hes like indian.. italian same thing (LOL)... tht was interesting .. another time.. we were standing in line at Pick nnPay (grocery store like safeway).. n this Black Zulu lady started talking to my friend who is also Black Zulu.. n she was commenting on how parents spend too much money on lil kids by buyin em all these brand name shoes, etc.. i was like well yaa but u know parents wanna give their kids the best.. neways i didnt say much.. they went on n on... n the shes like u know in our culture, kids get spanked for behaving like this...n i was like whadya mean our culture.... (cuz i knew she thought iwas white or somethin) .. n i said whdya think i am?? like wha ethnicity?? shes like uuhhh White huh .. i was like no WAY... im indian.. oh she was shocked.. shes like u dont look like an indian.. u look italian .. ur built.. ur fair.. blah blah.. i was like LAFFIN (inside)..
yaa coupla indians thought iwas white n were shocked when i said i was indian (lol)...im like wasnt i speaking to u bout indian stuff the whole time??? but they r like yaa we thought ur a white person who likes indian stuff.. one girl said yaa i thought u were white n got tanned.. LOL..
lets see yaa some indians of course think spanish... and yes PORTUGESE.. (yaa i wanna be portugese)... hehe yaa i always wondered if some ancestor of mine was black or portugese.. cuz in Goa.. portugese settlers were widespread so maaaaaaaaaaaaybbbbbee???????
I really wanna know.... my cousin sushma thinks she mite be frm iraq or afghanistan..LOL.. like her forefathers.. hehe.. i definitely think i have some portugese or black in me.. (like ethiopian)..
ive gotten muslim a few times.. i donno.. oh ya some ppl thought i had black in me also..hmmm
This is interesting when i went to Goa (in Indian, predominantly Christian) this guy thought i was Christian.. hes like u dont look like a Hindu..lol.. Im like what r Hindus supposedta look like vs. Christians?? hmmm hehe...
Anyways back to now.....

i was supposedta study in the morning but went to Yasmin's to eat n ended up jus stayin till 1.30... forgot bout my class which starts at 1.15.. was late ( aww)... lol..
I dunno how time just flew by today.... 3-4 hours just felt like an hour or so... but iwas tired at the end.. i dunno how yasmin works straight from 10.30 thru 2... super woman..
im doin REALLY good in my classes here.. hope to keep it up.. got 23/25 in my intnl law written assignment... and like 92% in the class... which I think is surprising for the people here cuz 70-75% is an A and anywhere over it is for geniuses...
im no genius.. but when i tell ppl I scored in the 90th percentile.. they re shocked.. HMMMMM
i guess im still aiming for the 90s... im used to the US standards.. Otherwise I wouldn't be studying here at all.. (overachiever.. hmmmmmmm)....
Actually I should be studying rite now but I am here in the LAN (computer lab).. just doing TP (timepass).. which means i am just chilling...
n soon i will be going to Aerobics.... n then Ill get tired.. but I ll study for a coupla hrs... or less.. cuz I get tired n sleepy by 9.... so i stop... hehe..
Oh yaaa my friend Raj gave my Kheer (Indian rice pudding with dry fruits, etc.) and Pulao (rice w/ veggies etc). It was good.. ok for someone who doesn't cook... God is really takin care of me.. HEHE.. the other day my friend/ neighbor Alvina invited me to her room (she keeps inviting me ) For some reason she thinks I jus lock myself in my room (no i dont ).... she made chicken livers.. yummy... so ispent like hours there ... i gave her some dal n rice from yasmin's stall... she liked it.. oh yaa alvina is from Zimbabwe studyin in SA... shes very nice...
I was watching this show called Top Billing which is sorta like Amazing Vacation Homes on Home/Garden Channel in the US.. ok .. so they got to rich.famous SA ppl n show their homes/ redo their homes, etc.. quite nice... then i watched like 3/4th of Runaway Bride (which i neva watched before), n then Oprah's show on Pedophiles.. i was jus gonna leave halfway cuz I find it soo disturbing but i stayed... hmm DID U ALL KNOW ABOUT NAMBLA??? North American Man Boy Love Association.. OMG... weird stuff!!!!!!! u can actually register for $35.. damn!!!
The man from Dateline NBC caught a Rabbi.. yes a Rabbi trying to get with a younger boy... yuck... sooo BEWARE!!! WATCH OUT!!!!!!! my roomie last yr told me an indian doctor was caught.. he had a family (wife n kids).. so yes Monsoon Wedding is a good move to watch.. somewhere along these lines...
hmm ok wha else.....
oh yess.... I GET TONS OF COMPLIMENTS HERE... (Hmmm) sounds like im boasting... but maybe this is how SA ppl are... i ve gotten compliments on my skin... on my beauty (LOL)....LIKE guys n GIRLS.. lol.. no they are not lesbians.. but yaa interesting huh!!!!!!
maybe i talk to more ppl here than US.. i donno...
at the stall random ppl (i donno them) will jus tell me things when i serve food or when im comin out of the res guy/girls will give me compliments.. HMMMM (im NOT tryin to brag, just an observation.. i had to write bout this cuz its part of my routine now).......I think its hilarious.......im like hmm shld i believe em??? hehe..ANYWAYS..........
i shld go soon..... im thinkin whata write about???? this is it for now.. (i know i still haven't written bout cape town n all dat good stuff but i will one of these days)....

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: SYNCHRODESTINY by Deepak Chopra... (Good Book for those who are spiritually n intellectually looking for a kick).. finished reading.. n its great.. still read it over here n there ...
and yes of course ALCHEMIST by Paul Coelho (recommended to me by dear Gautam Anna) i think i wrote bout this in my first blog...

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

MAY MAYHEM

HEHE
MAY IS OFFICIALLY HERE...

Firstly I won the DATATEL SCHOLARSHIP AWARD FOR 2007-2008.. YAAAAY!!!!!!!! i received this extremely good news form my mom on mother's day making her sooo very proud.. she had sent the cutest email to me.... n also I got the President's Scholar Award for Straight A's.....yayayay again!
Yes Amma God does open all doors and it is up to us to choose the right one....
and another good news is that my older brother, Gautam (Anna) has landed an internship in Google for the summer. He is doing in MSc in Artificial Intelligence in USC and had just come from India last year in July.
and yes my lil brother Rahul once again received straight A's and got an A in his district essay writing contest. SO i guess my family is blessed!!!!!!!!!

Finals are starting in 2-3 weeks n theres so much stuff i need to do... tons...
i hope i get everything done.. i know i will...

its gettin alil cold here but its fine.. bearable..not like CA.... gets windy around 2 pm..
today I had a Zulu telephone oral.. got a 47/50.. so far thats the highest i have heard of ... jus practiced yesterday
Aki( my partner for the oral) n VERY GOOD FRIEND.... were practicing it yesterday n ended up talkin for four hours till 11 pm.. oooh we just lost track of time...w e were siting rite in the middle of the stairwell where everyone was walking.. hehehe it was fun.. but our backs started hurting when we went to sleep..

i also watched a Zulu play this weekend.. called Kwazulu-Place of Heaven it was good.. lotsa traditional dancing like ngoma, isicathimiya, etc... I was sooooooo excited cuz we do the same ngoma in our class n I have worn the same costume before.. also, I could actually understand some of the zulu words n I was like YAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!
then aki n i ate Spicy Seafood Paella at this restaurant called "Circus Circus".. oh it has the best food.... it has oysres clam chorizo sausage shrimp fish n spicy rice........yummmmmmmmmy... then we had TIRAMISU..... DELICIOUS...
Susan, Lori n Justine were also with us but they ate at a different place, but we didnt liek the food there so we ate at circus circus....
then i went to see an Indian move Tararumpum at Suncoast... it was alrite... bout a racer n his family.... nuthin too good.. except Rani looked awesome in the beginning....very trendy
Yasmin n Raj were with me... Then Raj knew some Indian Tamil (South Indian) ppl n wanted to introduce me to them... n there was a braai (barbecue) n IT WAS YUMMY FOOOD....
Mutton chops,n sausages (they dont eat beef or pork)... its interesting how they r from south africa but they r soo indian....
we played musical chairsn i was the semi-finalist ehehhee.. then we played agame called 30 seconds.. sorta like charades.. where u have to describe words on ur card in 30 sec...n ur teammates have to guess.... oh this is where amma gave me the good news of the scholarship n all..
well ders more to write... but i g2go now.........tons to do....

Buh bye
Love all of ya
Resham

Thursday, May 3, 2007

South Africa in May

Wow, there is so much to write. Yes, I haven't been very good with writing my blogs and journals. But let me start with this week.
I was EXTREMELY sick since April 27th to May 2nd. I am still trying to catch up on all the sleep I lost during my days of illness. I had a fever and body ache. I was about to faint, and had to get to Entabeni Hospital (which is quite expensive, 650 rand to see a doctor, that's like almost $100). I even missed my submission of a paper, and a FAMILY LAW TEST. CAN U BELIEVE IT? Now, I am having a tough time getting all the medical certificates to prove that I was sick. Hope fully, it all works
At least, I got sick during LOOONG weekend.. Friday was Freedom day, like independence day, but from the apartheid regime. Then, Tuesday was of course International Labor Day. Most people took Monday off as well.. So, I pretty much was in bed recovering from my illness during this long weekend, except on Tuesday, I went to the Hare Krishna Temple in Chatsworth (former Indian township). There was a celebration of one of Krishna's avatars Narsimhadev (or Narsingha dev): half man/half lion, who killed Hiranyakashyapu (a bad non-believing king, who tried to kill his young son, Prahlad, who was an avid devotee of Lord Krishna). The sanyaasis (priests) first did an "abhishekham": bathing the shaligram stone from Govardhan with milk, and all these other liquids (not sure what). They kept chanting "Hare Krishna" Mahamantra, and then washed the stone. The main sanyaasi, (who is white), told us some parts of the Hiranyakshyapu/Prahlad story. Then there was a mini skit by young children on this topic. After that, there was free food, but we had to stand in line forever. It was really chaotic, and people were cutting the queue. This is so typical of Indians at temples. Even in Fremont, they display similar behavior.
The temple itself is so BEAUTIFUL. I had been there with my friend, Aki, two weeks ago. We took the kumbi (mini taxi) from our college to Town. Then, we took another kumbi from town to Chatsworth. That Kumbi gave us a tour of the entire northern side of Durban. It took us an hour to get there. We saw the aarti, and took blessings. There is a vegetarian restaurant downstairs, and we shared a wonderful thali meal as well. The food is just toooo GOOD. The thali consisted of three different types of veggies, roti, and flavored rice. YUMMY!! The temple is very peaceful. It has an artificial lake surrounding it, and has the most serene atmosphere. Pictures of Lord Krishna line the walls of the temple. They portray stories of different phases of Krishna's life. I love pictures of Baby Krishna. They were so cute.
Today, May 3rd, I have been told that I need a doctor’s certificate that I was sick on the day of my Family Law Test, but I went to the doctor before that. So, I am wondering how I will prove that I was sick before, thus I could not study for the test. I would have failed miserably if I took the test.
Now, I am being heavily introduced to this Hare Krishna ISKCON spiritual/ religious movement. As the lady I serve food for, is part of Hare Krishna, she takes me to all these events all the time. During the first part of spring break, I went to a Rath Yatra, spanning over a period of four days. This is held in Durban every year. It is called the Festival of Chariots, and consists of three chariots with three deities, Balram, Subhadra and Jaggannath. These are three Hindu deities. Now Hare Krishna, according to Yasmin, is not part of Hinduism. It is Vaishanivism, and the devotees follow the Vedic scriptures. They believe that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and all other Hindu deities are avatars (diff. forms) of Krishna. They have four regulated principles:-no illicit sex,-no gambling,-no meat eating (fish, eggs, etc) aka vegetarianism, -no caffeine (not enough caffeinated tea/coffee). Yasmin doesn’t even eat garlic/onions. Devotees chant Hare Krishna Mantra every day, and are expected to do 16 rounds i.e. say it 108 times on chanting beads or japa beads.
More info on this website: http://www.krishna.com/
The food I serve on campus is actually called “prasadam.” i.e. food offered to God, before being consumed by us. Supposedly has a purifying effect on us. I think the food is absolutely tasty, and I am sure many people on campus would agree, as it gets sold-out on a daily basis.
The menu changes on a daily basis. Every day there is vegetable biryani(like flavored rice with veggies, yellowish in color, this is more like a pulao not traditional biryani) Biryani is very popular in South Africa, even non-Indian, non-Muslims, make, cook, and relish biryani. It’s actually quite popular amongst the African folks here. So, we serve biryani with dal (sauce made of lentil and herbs). Then, we serve rotis with either one or both of vegetable fillings. These fillings change every day. Today, we had soya chunks and potatoes. We have butternut, broccoli/cauliflower in yogurt sauce, beans, mixed veggies, eggplant and potatoes, lentils, feta cheese (paneer) in tomato sauce, soya mince, etc. Then, we have kachorie pie (like samosa with feta cheese, peas, carrot filling, SOO TASTY), burfi (sweet made of milk, called milk fudge, FATTENING) and sooji pudding (sweet made of semolina with butter, sugar syrup, VERY FATTENING). Also, rice/dal w/ the veggies.. ALL THIS IS VERY BERY TASTY…
So, now that you know what I eat on a regular basis.. hehe.. and what I serve….
I have to write about my spring break also.. the rath yatra in more detail and Cape Town….Next Time… Right now I need to get this test thing sorted out.. Bye

Friday, April 6, 2007

MidMarch Adventures

29/03/07Wow.. been a while since I wrote anything!!I had written a really long email, but my computer had an unfortunate accident a few weeks ago. Now it won't reboot and I need to replace the harddrive.. hmm.. Atleast I got my Pics and efw docs saved...The accident occurred cuz this lizard/geico got into my room and as my family knows I am super scared of them. When I was a kid, my dad would literally wrestle with them (lol) more like run after them with a broom cuz i was soo scared of them.. now it was my friends' turn.. She did that and then I dropped this class of water on the floor. The glass broke, the water spilled on my laptop, and the rest is self-explanatory......well..... I just had tests coupla weeks ago.. and I got a 99% on my ZULU TEST.. YAY!!! Thats like hard to get in SA... but us international students (well some of us) all got real high scores... I am still waiting for my Family Law Test which omg... was a real time crunch...... The level of education in my law classes in definitely higher than U.S. There is so much readin to go.... but nothin that can't be managed.. I think the real difference are the tests... You are only given an hour or less, and the test is packed. So you don't have time to think and check your work... Also, rules regarding exams are pretty strict... its scheduled in a different venue than regular class locations...u need ur student id.. ur books haveta be put away .. etc etc. u get the pics... well.. besides tht i think 75 and higher is an A which is good.....I'll let u know once i get other tests back.. I have two more next week.. aaah International law is gonna be a killer!!!! and the teacher for Zulu Dr. Sharmila Naidoo said the 2nd test is real difficult.. HMMMM havent started studying yet... As far as working at the Indian Veg stall is going .. tis great... i actually stayed over the ladys' home (Yasmin) to watch this Indian show on Zee Tv ... and then her mom cooked like 5 different indian vegetable curries for me.. banana kebabs, bitter gourd curry, potato curry, lima beans curry, and special dal rotis.. omg... n then for brkfast she made kachoris n dal wada.. n those who dont know wha this is .. it is really good homemade indian food.. u shld go taste it...now my meals r taken care off.. for someone who doesnt cook.. God has taken care of me very well.... w/ this lady givin me FREE FOOD always...even today im carryin 4 boxes of indian food....Ohyes.. i fasted for the first time in my life 2 weeks ago on Saturday .Yasmin is part of ISKON (hare krishna) and she said she was going to fast for some Indian festival called ekadashi (related to full moon) but i just did it to test my will power ..jus felt like doin it when i woke up... so i did.... n ate at 7 in the evening.. tht was interestin....then last week i sorta fasted abstained frm meat n alcohol.. n ate very less... i think i did this to jus have some self-restrain... it was good....ok i also found this GOOOOOOOD Thai restaurant called BANH THAI.. which is half off for Ladies on Tuesdays.. ITS GRT.. went there last wk and this wk for my friend Megan's BDAY....... Its GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD FOOOOOODAnother one is Bangkok Wok... at Wilson's Wharf.. My friend Susan and I went to the Old House Musuem and Old Court House Musuem on march 21st human rights day..... n then her aunt took us to Wilson's wharf for lunch.... its a nice VEYRNICE PLACE.. it has a harbor overlookin these restaurants..... n u can go around on boats ....I bought .. tons of artificial jewelry.. and yes they have a store w/ indian dvds...Ok i have been shoppin a lot a here but everythin looks REALLY GOOD..... OMG... hehe.. not tht its too much cheaper... neways.............FOOD IS SUPER GOOD HERE.. I LOVE IT..DO VISIT..Ok I have this awesome story about how I visited a witch doctor last weekend..and got a marriage proposal also...but ill save it for another time..... UPDATE ME W/ UR LIFE EVERYONE.. BUH BYE FOR NOW+

Sawubona Part 2

Sawubona everyone,Yebo!!So, I hope you all enjoy reading this. Some of it is extremelydetailed.. and I hope no one gets bored reading about some of myexperiences.... Its reflection + experiences...... I'll write more astime goes by...............South Africa and the paradox of the first world Jan 30-7 Feb 07(Before reading: I haven't paid particular attention to grammar andspelling. I just wrote what came to my mind, and so if there are anyerrors, just ignore it.. I write much better than this I promise..)South Africa! What an interesting place! It is amazing to see howbiased the western media is, more specifically American media. Mostpeople in US only know Africa for the Darfur genocide, blood diamonds,or starving children with protruding bellies. I agree that theseconditions exist, but these are NOT the ONLY conditions that exist inAfrica.Africa is a huge continent with various nations, each having a richand unique heritage.Every nation in Africa has a story to tell. As of now, South Africahas whispered many beautiful and heart-warming stories to me. Everyday I come across something that truly touches my heart.For example, yesterday I was talking to some of my res hall mates. Itold them that South Africa was a wonderful and pretty place. One ofthem was surprised that I said that. She said maybe you wouldn't saythat if you saw where I live. It is not a township, but it is veryghetto. She literally had tears in her eyes. Interestingly, being theempathetic person that I am, I could feel her pain. I could onlywonder about the plight of her home, but I nevertheless, sensed herpain.Today, I actually visited a township area called Cattle Manor. LocalSouth Africans would refrain from going to this area, and would adviseyou on how dangerous it is. The sociology professor who came with ustold us that he has been there many times, and people might say thatit is safe for him because he is black. He stated that Andrea, (fromNetherlands, studying in USA), has also been there plenty of times,and is safe. He told us about the living conditions of thesetownships, and provided a brief history of SA. With all this, weheaded out to Cattle Manor.I am glad that God blessed me with this experience. Although there aresimilar areas in India, I have never walked through them. I havepassed by them or walked near them, but I don't think I haveinteracted with the people. It is interesting to note how strikinglysimilar the plight of impoverished people is all around the world. Icould literally recall instances in India where I have seen peopleliving in similar conditions with similar problems. I also rememberedTijuana, and how people made use of scrap material to build theirhomes. This township was similar. Listening to these people, andobserving the conditions they live in, only strengthened my goal ofworking for childrens' rights and development. I don't know whatdegree or what work will allow me to help them, but I know God willgive me the courage and resolution to help these people.Basically, in South Africa, a township is basically a piece of land(or an area), where non-white people, mostly blacks, were housedduring the apartheid regime. The houses in these townships are made oftin and bricks, and are extremely small. They usually consist of oneroom with minimal amount of furniture. Many women were fetching waterfrom communal pumps located at designated areas. There were also manymen idly sitting around or chatting with other men. This is definitelyis a result of unemployment.Overall, people were very friendly. They opened their hearts and homesto us. Every time, I gave candy to little kids, their smiles wereworth watching. They put out both their hands instantly to get somecandy from this strange person, who obviously didn't fit in, and kepttaking random pictures. A group of kids sang "Happy birthday"impromptu, and did so after I gave them candy also.Surprisingly noneof these kids look food deprived. Almost all were very healthy, andsound. The conditions weren't very hygienic, and I don't think anykids should live in such a situation. I really want to help these kidsget out of such conditions. God needs to help me find my path!One local said he was glad that we were there just visiting them, andhe said he was happy for that. A group of ladies were just happy tohear us greeting them in Zulu. They were surprised that we couldactually greet in their language. By the way, Zulu is a hard language.There are different kinds of clicks depending on the letter used,e.g., X, C, etc. I hope I can learn all of it!!!!!!Sawubona=HelloMoja= doing good, sharpSouth Africans use "Sharp" as a way of saying, "I'm good," or "I'mfine." They also use a thumbs up sign to indicate that they are fine,or to agree with you.Last night, I went to my first South African club. It was "LadiesNight Out," and was arranged by our university. Transportation (aparty bus, haha) was arranged to and from the venue. It was actuallypretty safe, and it was almost similar to the U.S, except it had twodance floors. One played South African House music (which is BIG inSA), and another played OLD SCHOOL HIP HOP. I am sure other clubs willhave more contemporary hip-hop music.In the House section, people usually make a circle and either one ortwo people dance in the middle. It is hilarious to watch some of thesepeople, because they make anything a dance move. But man can SouthAfricans move!!! Even the guys dance well, (better than the U.S.). Okalso it was my first time going to an "all black" club. There werequite a few international students, but on the whole, it was a blackclub (and yes it was safe).Some of the girls think it's cute that I am not a big drinker. Likeyesterday I didn't drink at all. As a matter of fact, I haven't hadanything to drink since I came to SA unlike others. (YAY!!!!! Still myold self). So, they were like "oh that's so sweet!" (LOL).Oh ok little about some of my friends.Megan Yen= from Canada, half white, half Chinese. She's really cool.We always sit and talk really late into the night. Even after we cameback from the club, we were still talking till like 3ish. We gossip alot (nothing malicious). We both are highly analytical and observe alot. So, it's interesting to share our thoughts about things andpeople. I feel really comfy with her. We get along real well, and weshopped and chilled together a lot. She sorta looks like my cousin,Sushma, in India. Too bad, she's leaving at the end of the semester. Aki Katakami=from Japan, she was in Calcutta, India for 2 weeks duringspring break, volunteering at Mother Theresa's shelter. She has comehere to improve her English, and also because she had a calling tosome to SA. We go shopping to Muskgrave mall all the time, and for aJapanese girl, she likes black guys or she thinks they look good (ok Ifind this interesting). The other day I got some Indian rotis,pickles and other things from "Gorima's spices" in Muskgrave, and bothof us ate the "yummy" Indian food. She actually liked it, so I amhappy that I can eat Indian food in my room with a friend. The nextday, she made Miso soup for me, and we had more Indian food. Lol, andwe both were soo sleepy, that we feel asleep in my room. She wassitting on the chair, and I was lying on the bed. We finally woke upafter an hour, when Spi, one of the House Commons (lower than a RAs(residence advisor), but have authority) knocked on our door, and camein. She was cracking up, because we both were soundly asleep. That wasa very funny moment, because we did not realize when we fellasleep!!!!!Helen Amutenya= from Namibia, She is also an international student,but she is completing her entire degree at UKZN. She's pursuingagricultural engineering, and is here on a scholarship. She is alsovery sweet. I think she's pretty (actually all of my friends are verygood looking), and I love the way she speaks. She always says "ne" atthe end of her sentences. I am thinking of going to Namibia, andstaying at her place. This is just a thought, no concreteness yet. Sheexplained how and where she lives. She showed me pictures. I think itwould be very cool to live with her. Let's see!!!!Oh by the way, most of the Africans know English pretty well. Manypeople are heavily influenced by American pop media and Hollywood.People know all the songs and movies from the U.S. (So, for those ofyou thought that Africa is highly backward, think again)Lotte=Norway, she also visited India last year, and she loved it. (Ithink many Indians who speak negatively about India should learn fromforeigners who visit India, and actually like it) It amazes me thatmany Indians, especially in the U.S. have all these distortedimpressions about India, and these foreigners were actually speakingvery highly of India. (Hmmmmmmmmm!!!!)Ok so, I haven't gotten to know her very well, but she seems like areally cool girl. She is looking to move into our dorms, but thatmight not work. Last night, I enjoyed dancing with her.Oh by the way, Helen, Megan and Lotte have bfs back home. Firstly, Ithink it's amazing that their bfs were ok with them going on thisstudy abroad trip, and secondly, these girls are doing what they want,although they are in pretty serious relationships. Good forthem!!!!!!!!!!!!Oh I know tons of other people, but these are my closest friends.Ok 2 nights ago, we all went to the Bat Center, which is a culturalcenter and a bar/restaurant. So, on Thursday, they have African drumnight. In the beginning, I was horrible at the drums, but by the endof the night, I actually improved a lot. OMG!!!!!!!!Before the actual drumming started, we were all sitting outside in thebalcony restaurant, and playing our drums. Some of the internationalstudents (guys) were very good (this is when I sucked), but later inthe big group, we all sounded ok. I actually learned some gooddrumming. One of the Afrikaaners (white SA) said I was good atdrumming (yay!!)Ok so there is an interesting story!! There were murals on the walls(extremely beautiful), and after drumming, Aki and I were sitting andlooking at the harbor. This black guy starts talking to Aki and thenme, and tells us that he lives in the studio there and has painted allthese murals. He wanted us to come to his studio, and look at hispaintings. We were like no I don't think so. Then he said oh I wantedto give you both a gift, and I was like why….?? He's like its just agift. He said he wants to be known around the world, and wants to befamous even in US. My friend, Ghani (hes Afghan) was pissed at thisguy, and kept trying to get us away from him. He was like u guysshould be careful, blah blah……… (ok he's rights, but such thingshappen to girls all the time, and we know how to take care ofourselves, we are not naïve). So the black guy, whose name wasLalelani (means Listen in zulu), came back and gave us these pictureshe drew. It was actually really good!!!!! But man, Ghani was gettingsuper mad at that guy, and he kept calling him a creep.. (LOL)……. Hestarted giving us stats about rape and Aids….lol (ok I thought of thistoo, but he was funny) He reminded me of my brother, Rahul who warnedme about AIDS and rape before venturing out to SA.. lol……So anyways…I think I gained something good out of this entiresituation: a beautiful African picture…(which would've cost us quitea few rands outside) God protected me… YAY……Oh yaa……Did I tell you the view from the roof my res hall isabsolutely BREATHTAKING!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!! You can see an entire partof Durban from there, including the harbor. (From my college, you cansee the Indian ocean).. I sit on the roof to just get in touch withmyself, nature, and of course God…… I love that place….. it's sooopeaceful and calm…….Once, Aki and I went up there and lay down on the roof. I think shefell asleep. I just stared at the stars and wondered at the beautythat God has created, and at the beautiful vision he gave me to viewhis creations… Thank you!!Oh yaa, I recently got some jewelry from the Indian market, when wewere touring Durban on the Rickshaw bus city tour. (HEHE that storedrove me crazy, I wanted to buy the entire store.. hehe, any of youinterested in a partnership??)It was a double decker bus, and the upper deck was half open, i.e. hadno roof. That was good… I saw the entire Durban, and got super tanned…(yes, I have gotten more tanned than my usual tan, and I haven't evenbeen to beach yet)… My nose got tanned.. hehe…While driving, sometimes the tree branches were hitting the bus, andsome twigs and leaves were falling on us.. LOL that was SO MUCHFUN………………… HEHEOH YAAAAAA our bus got stuck between parked cars…….. hehe we couldn'tmove….. soooo around 4-5 guys moved the car… they practically liftedit and moved it……. IT WAS SOOOO FUNNY AND COOL…….. WOW……. U know thisdoesn't really happen in SA, but we had to do this, or we would bethere all day ..lol… we all cheered for the guys…..Hmm what else…I think the first week was perfect, just the way it should havebeen…..everything was planned carefully by God. I am very happy… Itseems like so far everything (at least for me) has been going verywell… God does help those who help themselves… its true…..I registeredfor all my classes on the very first day and ran around to getsignatures, etc, whereas the others went to the beach, partied, etc,etc.. I did not… and tried to get settled first……Now these people are super tired, and lot of them got sick, one evengot a chest infection…Registration at UKZN is an extremely long and time consumingprocess.. people wait in long lines and wait for the id cards, and allthat…Everywhere on campus, there is a huge queue……… I didn't have towait in any of them, because I did what I had to beforehand….hmmmm……..so I think so far I am fine.. I haven't been to the beachyet, but everything has a time and place.. I will do sooo VERYSOON…………..I really like Durban.. It is a very cool combo between the west, andeast with Africa in there……Everywhere I go there's Indian food.. even on my campus there are 2stalls with Indian food.. absolutely tasty……… everyone eats there…….ohthe braai chicken (brabecue but in a Portugese SA way) is extremelytasty.. any of you visiting Africa should go to Nandos (a fast foodchain)... even the rice there is SUPER TASTY.....I think they shouldstart Nandos in US. It would be a big hit...People in Durban are VERY VERY NICE……..What can I say…. I think I amfalling love with this place……… hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!Hope to talk to all of you soon……. Once college starts next week on12th feb…… I will let you know of my classes and students…….then Iwill have a set schedule so I can talk to some of you on skype or chatwith you……..alrite then tons of love to all….. ByeResham

Sawubona

Sawubona!!!!!!!!!!!A warm (and I mean really warm) welcome to all the wonderful people I know.I have always had a very positive feeling about South Africa, eversince I applied for the study abroad program. This is only gettingreinforced as I experience each day in SA."Instincts manifest into actions without one consciously being aware of it."This is something I wrote at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris,France during the eight hour layover. I know my instincts arepositively guiding me at every step of my life. All of you should read"The Alchemist" by Paul Coelho. This is the book I read (again) duringmy flight to SA. I highly recommend it.I am absolutely glad that I traveled alone, because it gave me anopportunity to reflect on and prepare for my journey ahead-both thephysical and the spiritual journey.The physical journey was long (around 34 hours), and exciting, but thespiritual journey seems to be never-ending… or can I say, it just gotstarted!One of the most spectacular sights for me was watching the sunrisewhile I was thousands of feet in the air. It was like the beads ofsunlight pierced through the sky, and spread a soft, glowing light allaround me. Although, I never actually saw the sun, I knew exactlywhere it was. There was an orange, red hue all around it. At certaintimes, it felt like there were rivers of lava that were constantlygrowing and disappearing. This lava seemed to flow through white,snow-like expanses of clouds, but both existed in perfect harmony. Allthe beauty that I witnessed made me feel like a beautiful creation ofGod. I felt this same way later on in Durban, South Africa. Watchingthe sunrise was a great transition into SA. The fact that I witnessedthe sunrise was only an indicator that my life was about to startanew.I landed in Johannesburg at first, and was literally staring at allthe people. Everyone who was waiting at the customs, was white, akaAfrikaaner. Afrikaaners are the European descendants that have livedin SA for ages. Everyone who was working was African, i.e. the nativeblack people of SA. I have seen this pattern in many places I havevisited including cafes, malls, etc. Afrikaaners never seem to be theones working.One of the most striking things about SA is how nice the people are.They are absolutely delightful people, who are always willing to help.People literally go out of their way to help others. SomethingAmericans are not very good at! This lady, Primrose, who is a janitorat my Res came with my friends and I to help us shop on the very firstday we landed in SA. She didn't have to do this, but she did! I don'tthink people in the US would have ever done this.The porter who helped me with my bags was African, and was veryfriendly. All this is just the beginning of all the "niceness" that Ihave and will experience in SA.Well I have so much more to tell you about this beautiful place, but Iam super tired. I will type more some other time.A few details for all of you:My Province=Kwazulu Natal (there are no states)My city=Durban (overlooking the Indian Ocean)My university=University of Kwazulu NatalMy campus=Howard CollegeMy Res Halls: Mable Palmer, aka Mabes(The pictures online do not do justice to the beauty of this place)My classes as of now=Intro to LawInternational LawIntro to IsiZuluAfrican Music and danceBarbecue =Braai (VERY VERY VERY TASTY)Ketchup =Tomato Sauce (Vinegar with fries and chicken)Fries =ChipsNapkins =ServiettesApartments =FlatsElevators =LiftsTaxi =KumbiOk that's all for now… will tell you more later ByeIn Love with DurbanLots of LoveResham